49ers’ Kyle Williams stands tall amid criticism

A day after mishandling two punt returns, 49ers wide receiver Kyle Williams handled the disturbing fallout from his season-killing fumbles in the NFC Championship Game flawlessly.

Williams received death threats via Twitter in the hours after his fumbles in the fourth quarter and overtime led to the Giants‘ final 10 points in their 20-17 overtime win Sunday night at Candlestick Park.

On Monday morning, as he met with reporters for the second time in 16 hours, Williams, 23, said he wasn’t aware of the vitriolic postings on Twitter and had leaned on teammates, friends and family for support. He repeatedly expressed his desire to be accountable for the mistakes that might have cost the Niners their first trip to the Super Bowl in 17 years.

“It’s one of those things you have to take accountability for,” Williams said. “Everybody is responsible for what they do on the field. It’s something that I was responsible for and I made a mistake, and it’s time to own up to it and move forward.”

Williams also downplayed a shoulder injury that happened in the third quarter. His dad, White Sox general manager Kenny Williams, had told ESPN Chicago his son might have been playing with a separated shoulder. Niners coach Jim Harbaugh said an evaluation Monday revealed that Williams didn’t have a separation, but a very sore shoulder. Harbaugh, who said he wasn’t aware of the injury during the game, said Williams was “soldiering through it.”

“I take full responsibility for the mistake that I did make,” Williams said. “You have to play with what you got. I was dinged up. Everybody was dinged up. That’s just football. Nobody is going to be 100 percent. I was going fine.”

There was no indication that Williams had sustained another concussion Sunday, but Giants wide receiver Devin Thomas told the Newark Star-Ledger that New York had knocked Williams woozy during the game. Thomas, who recovered both of Williams’ fumbles, said that was part of the Giants’ game plan.

After sustaining a concussion Dec. 24 in a win at Seattle, Williams said he thought it was his fourth.

“He’s had a lot of concussions,” Thomas said after the game. “We were just like, ‘We gotta put a hit on that guy.’ … (Giants safety Tyler) Sash did a great job hitting him early, and he looked kind of dazed when he got up. I feel like that made a difference and he coughed it up.”

Sash did put a big hit on Williams at the end of a 9-yard punt return with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. The tackle is somewhat obscured by other players on the TV replay, but Sash appeared to hit Williams legally in the upper body while Williams was falling to the ground. As New York cornerback Prince Amukamara congratulated Sash on the tackle, Williams got back up and stayed on the field for San Francisco’s subsequent offensive possession. Quarterback Alex Smith faked a reverse to Williams on the Niners’ first-down play.

As was the case Sunday night, Williams’ teammates backed the embattled second-year wideout, who also received supportive messages from retired NFL stars Deion Sanders and Kurt Warner on Twitter.

Williams’ most vocal supporter was placekicker David Akers, who could relate to the goat label affixed to Williams after his failings in a high-stakes game. Last year, Akers, playing with the Eagles, missed field-goal attempts of 34 and 41 yards in a 21-16 divisional-playoff loss to Green Bay.

“I’m irritated with the way people are treating him, absolutely,” Akers said. “I think it’s ridiculous. You know, get a grip on what life’s about. He went out and he put his soul out there. That’s what he does. He was not trying to do anything other than make an incredible play for this team.”